You're Everything
by choose joy xox
Summary: What if Toby and Spencer had met before Ali disappeared? What if they had a chance to develop their relationship before things began with A? How would that change things? Spoby, Haleb, and a crazy Ali. Read, Review, Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

Have you ever shipped a couple so hard that you want to lock yourself in your room and just cry and listen to sad music and eat chocolate? SPOBY. I am writing this to satisfy my Spoby cravings. And to erase this whole Ravenswood business from my brain because… HALEB. Okay, done fangirling. Read and let me know what you think?

I guess I should explain some things beforehand. This story is going to begin a few months before the Jenna thing, and then END with the Jenna thing. The POV will jump around, but it will probably mostly be from Spencer's. I will do a sequel if there is a decent response to this story. A few things are obviously going to change because OMGSPOBY. I don't really want to explain it too much because you will get it in the story.

**Prologue**

As she runs toward the Cavanaugh house she can literally feel her heart breaking. She never believed in true love. To her a belief in soul mates was associated with a lack of intelligence. What were the chances that there was only one person in the world that could make you happy. Then she met him. When she approaches the garage she pauses to take in the horrific sight.

Fire, smoke, shattered glass, screams. Before she even realizes what she's doing she begins running toward the garage.

"Spencer!"

She hears her friends yelling for her but she can't bring herself to stop. She tries to control her tears, as she reaches for the door. She jumps slightly when the door opens before she touches it, and she sobs with relief when she sees him stagger out.

"Toby."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN**

I mean I just posted the prologue, but I appreciate any future responses! Thanks so much for reading! Love you all. I'm not the best at grammar, so if anyone would there would like to beta send me a message

I sadly don't own PLL.

Chapter 1

SPOV

Spencer hurries down the sidewalk with her heavy bag bouncing against her thin frame. She's running late for school and doesn't like it. She has an embarrassing secret; there's nothing that she enjoys more than school. Fresh supplies, new concepts, cracking open a new book, and getting a chance to be with her friends? She honestly can't think of anything she likes better.

"Spencer!"

She turns around with a grin and faces the tall blonde, "Han! Running late for school? Very you."

Hanna raises her eyebrow and laughs, "But not very you. What's up, Spence? Why so late?"

"My mom wanted to talk to me. She thinks I'm not being supportive enough during Melissa's 'trying time,'" she replies with a groan and rolls her eyes.

"Your sister broke up with her boyfriend, she didn't get brain surgery. What a drama queen," Hanna says with a laugh.

Spencer she nods emphatically and links her arm with Hanna's as they reach Rosewood High. "Can you believe that this year is almost over with? We're going to be sophomores."

"Right?! Better parties, older boys, and a year closer to graduation," says Hanna as she flips her blonde hair over her shoulder and pulls her oversized sweater down over her stomach.

"Pretty sure that's not what Spencer meant, Hanna," says a soft voice behind them.

Spencer looks over her shoulder at the girl behind her and offers Emily her other arm. "I was thinking more along the lines of more challenging classes and more opportunities." She glances over at Emily with a smile, "How are you Em?"

Emily hesitates and looks at the ground before replying, "I'm okay."

Spencer looks over and exchanges a worried glance with Hanna. Hanna glances around Spencer and looks at Emily with a certain degree of concern. "Are you sure, Em?"

She sighs and nods, "Did you hear that the new girl is going to be here today?" she asks while trying to change the subject.

Spencer glances at her for a moment before letting her keep her secret. They walk out to the courtyard and sit down together on one of the picnic tables. "The new Cavanaugh girl, right?"

Emily nods and glances around, "I saw Toby this morning on my way to school, and he didn't seem all that excited about getting a new step sister."

"Are you guys talking about Jenna Marshall?"

Spencer turns to Aria as she sits down at the table next to her. "Is that her name? Have you met her?"

"I was walking down the hall with Ali and we stopped to introduce ourselves. You know how Ali is. Anyway, Jenna totally blew us off. Be prepared, Ali's on a rampage," Aria widens her eyes and gestures with her head to show that Ali is approaching their table.

"Good morning my darlings," Alison says cheerfully as she squeezes between Hanna and Emily. "Wow Han, there isn't a lot of room here."

Hanna blushes and looks down at the table. "Sorry," she says softly.

Spencer gives Ali a sharp look, "I don't know Alison, it looks pretty roomy to me. Maybe the problem is in the middle."

Ali gives Spencer a wide eyed stare, "Aw look at you Spence, sticking up for Hanna. You should watch how you talk to me."

She opens her mouth to respond to Alison before Emily cuts her off. "Spence, come to the bathroom with me?"

Spencer snaps her mouth shut and glances over at Emily. She looks at Ali before turning back to Emily. "Yeah, sure."

Hanna quickly jumps up to join them, "I'll come too."

"I actually really do need to use the restroom," Aria says softly and gives Ali a sheepish smile.

Ali waves her fingers at them and smiles as though she had already forgotten Spencer's attitude, "See you at lunch my lovelies." She pulls herself up off of the bench she was sitting on and slides onto the end of a table full of seniors.

The other four girls walk together to the restroom. As soon as they enter and make sure it's empty Hanna turns to Spencer and quickly wraps her arms around her in a hug. "You didn't have to do that."

"Han, we all love Ali, but you don't deserve to be talked to like that. You're gorgeous. You don't have to let her talk down to her. But seriously, you don't need to thank me." Spencer says softly as she hugs her back.

Aria puts her hand on Hanna's shoulder and nods, "Yeah, Han you're hot! Don't let Ali make you feel bad about yourself."

"Nothing to be ashamed of, Han," Emily says encouragingly.

Hanna pulls away from Spencer and smiles at all of the girls, "I love you guys." She goes to the sink and splashes some water on her face. "Let's get out of here."

Aria leads the girls to the bathroom door and pushes it open. The other three follow closely behind her.

"There you are!"

Spencer cringes as she hears Ali's voice but decides to act like nothing had happened. Getting in a fight with Alison is like getting into a fight with a brick wall; it never accomplishes anything. She moves as far from Ali as she can and walks down the hallway. She sometimes wonders why she's friends with Ali, but walking down the halls of Rosewood High always helps her to remember. She might not like everything that Ali does, but she is really great at making you feel like you're a part of something special. Heads always turn when they walk down the hall together.

"OH MY GOD!"

Spencer's torn from her thoughts by a scream from Ali. She glances over in concern, but rolls her eyes she sees what really happened. Ali had obviously not been looking where she was going and ran into Toby Cavanaugh, but she's making it seem as though it was his fault. "You idiot! You made me drop all of my things."

Spencer and Emily both immediately drop to their knees and help gather the papers that had scattered. Emily helps Ali gather her things and Spencer turns to help Toby. She gathers a bunch of his papers and passes them to him with a smile. "Spencer!? What are you doing? Why are you helping that loser? He ran into me!"

Spencer whips her head back and gives Ali an exasperated glare, "Just leave him alone, Ali. It's not even a big deal."

For the second time that morning Ali looks at her with her eyebrows raised, "You're being very defiant today, Spencer."

Spencer ignores Ali and continues to help Toby gather his things. She listens as her friends walk away and looks back up from the papers to make eye contact with Toby. "I'm sorry about her. She's really not that bad once you get to know her."

He looks into her eyes for a second before quickly averting his gaze back down to the ground, "Why are you being nice to me?" he whispers and pulls everything into a stack.

"Is this being nice? I thought it was just being a decent person."

Toby glances up to her eyes and then looks back down quickly before standing up. "It's just not something I would expect from one of Alison's friends." He looks at her one more time before looking back down at the ground and walking away.

Spencer glances after him for a moment before picking her books back up and making her way to AP World History. She pauses as she feels her phone vibrate in her bag. She pulls it out and opens the text from Aria. _Spencer, defender of the weak. You're so awesome. Sorry I didn't stay and help. #AlisonProbs #TeamSparia_. She laughs at Aria's hashtags and quickly types out a response. _Love you. #TeamSpariaFTW_. She pockets her phone and walks into the history room. She pauses when she walks into the room and sees that the only open seat is next to Toby Cavanaugh. She laughs quietly to herself and takes her seat. She turns to him once she sits down, "This is a bit ironic, isn't it?"

Toby glances at her with a hesitant smile before turning back to his paper and doodles in the margins. "You're different than I thought you'd be."

"What do you mean?" Spencer asks as she skims through the chapter they were supposed to read for homework and chews on her pencil eraser. She glances up at him and looks at him curiously, not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.

Toby starts to answer her but quickly shuts his mouth as the teacher starts to lecture. Spencer turns away and focuses on the teacher. She is quickly engrossed in the lecture, and shuts out everything else.

With about ten minutes left in class Mr. Harris stops lecturing and walks up and down the rows of the classroom to pass out and hand out for their first project. "Alright class. I want you to find a partner and choose a period of history to present to the class. You're required to turn in a fifteen to twenty page paper, and give a fifteen minute presentation with some form of visual aid. Take the rest of the class to choose a partner and to begin discussing your project. I expect you to have chosen your period of history by tomorrow."

Spencer sits up straight and glances around the room before her eyes rest on Toby. She feels a little sad when she sees him staring down at his desk like no one would want to be his partner. Before she realizes what she's doing she puts her hand on his arm and shoots him a friendly smile. "Want to be partners?"

"You don't have to do that," he says quickly and pulls his arm away.

Spencer gives him a look before responding, "Okay, I know you don't know me that well so I will forgive your implication that I only want to be your partner because I feel bad for you. Not true. I'm Spencer Hastings. I never do anything that I don't want to do. Be my partner!"

Toby stares at her for a second before nodding. "Okay."

Spencer was about to suggest doing the Cold War for their project before the bell rings. She quickly scribbles her cell number down on a piece of paper and passes it to Toby. "Do you want to meet at the Brew after school to get started?"

"Are you sure you want to do that? I'm not exactly the most popular person. I know you have a reputation…" he trails off with a twinge of sadness in his voice.

"Toby. Meet me at the Brew and we will study and drink coffee. I think you'll find that I'm pretty okay to hang out with." She gathers her books together and looks down at him to wait for his answer.

Toby gathers his things and nods, "Five o'clock?"

"I'll be there. See you later partner."

He nods in her direction, "Partner."

**A/N**

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST. Two reviews on a 200ish word chapter? All you wonderful people make my day! I'm a little nervous to post this, so keep up giving me the love! Also, I have a question for you guys! I am going to start writing the next chapter tomorrow morning! If you review before then can you let me know if you'd prefer the Brew study date to be from Toby or Spencer's POV? Keep in mind if it's from Toby's it will probably be a bit shorter. Let me know! Also, if there's anything you really want to see in this story I might be able to work it in! Give me a review


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

Okay, I love you all. Seriously you're the best. This chapter is from Spencer's POV and the next one will be from Toby's. You can expect the next chapter late tonight or early tomorrow. Happy reading!

Unfortunately, I don't own Pretty Little Liars.

Chapter 2

SPOV

As the final bell rings Spencer walks out the front doors of the school and sits on the steps to wait for her mom to pick her up. She pulls out her phone and looks through the apps trying to find a way to amuse herself.

"Spencer, my dear, how are you?"

She lifts her head up and smiles at Ali as she sits down beside her, "Wonderful as always. How are you?"

"Every day of school requires an evening of recovery time. Why are people such idiots?" Ali asks dramatically.

Spencer raises her eyes curiously, "What great injustice happened today?"

Ali sighs and pulls out her compact to check her makeup. "Well first Noel Kahn grabbed my ass and then that new girl Jenna Marshall blew me off when I basically invited her to be one of us. What's wrong with her?"

"Maybe she wants to get the hang of things on her own?" Spencer suggests hesitantly, not really wanting to make Ali mad again.

"Whatever. Want to hang out later?" Ali asks as she snaps her compact shut and puts it into her makeup bag.

Spencer hesitates before responding. It's not that she's embarrassed about hanging out with Toby. She just doesn't want Ali to bother him. She can take it, but she's not sure if he can. "I'm meeting my history partner at the Brew to study, but maybe around 8? We can watch a movie? My parents and Melissa are going to Philly, so you could come over."

"Sounds perf. I'll call the girls. Oh, there's my mom. Have fun studying." She gets up, pulls her oversized purse over her shoulder, walks to the parking lot, and climbs into her mom's car.

Spencer sees her mom pull up right as the DiLaurentis car is leaving. She grabs her bag and quickly walks to it and climbs inside. "Hey mom."

Mrs. Hastings hangs up her phone and leans over to kiss her cheek. "Hi sweetheart. How was school?"

"It was good. Actually, can you drop me off at the Brew? I need to meet my partner for my history project."

"Sure. Who's your partner? One of the girls?" Mrs. Hastings asks as she pulls down the mirror and runs her fingers through her hair while they're stopped at a red light.

Spencer hesitates again, not sure how her mom will react. "Um no, it's Toby Cavanaugh. Do you know him?"

"I do. Make sure that you're careful. That boy seems troubled." She says as they pull into the parking lot.

"I will thanks. Love you." She says softly and climbs out of the car.

She waves to her mom and walks into the front door of the Brew. There's no line, so she walks to the front counter and orders a large black coffee. She takes the coffee to a table and pulls out her copy of _A Brave New World_ in French. She takes a seat by the window and gets lost in the words while she waits for Toby to arrive.

"What are you reading?" a soft voice asks her approximately twenty minutes later.

Spencer jumps and laughs when she sees Toby. "_A Brave New World_. I want to be fluent in French by the time I graduate, and the best way to learn a new language is to read a book you already know in English."

Toby nods and sits across from her. "That makes sense."

He sets his notebook out on the table and digs through his bag for a pen. Spencer glances down at his notebook and notices his drawings in the margins. She turns it around to face her and admires it. "Toby! These are incredible! You can really draw."

"Oh, um thanks," he mumbles and pulls the notebook back toward himself. "So, do you have a topic in mind for our report?"

She nods eagerly, "Well, I was definitely thinking that the Cold War could be an interesting topic. It had a ton of international implications, so it definitely fits for the World History class. But if you don't like that we could also do something along the lines of Persian Wars. That has a more antiquated feel. We could also do something on the construction of the Egyptian pyramids. Or we coul-"

Toby laughs and cuts her off, "No, no I think the Cold War is a great topic. Should we just do a powerpoint or something more interesting for our visual aid?"

"Powerpoints are overused, sure, but they can also be effective if we do a great job on it. I think that's our best bet because it will help us get across the most information." Spencer says before finishing off her coffee. "Do you want to meet at my house tomorrow and get a head start on the actual assignment? Maybe around noon?"

Toby laughs again, "I can definitely meet you tomorrow. Do we need to do anything else for Monday's class?"

"I don't think so. Let's just talk for a while. Emily makes you sound really great, and I see what she means now." She smiles in thanks as the waiter brings her a refill on her coffee and she starts to put her books back in her bag.

"Emily is pretty great. She's always been nice to me. I think if it wasn't for Alison we might actually be friends." He awkwardly looks down and plays with his hands.

Spencer gives him an apologetic frown, "Toby, I'm so sorry about her. She finds it very hard to accept things that she doesn't understand or find familiar. You don't deserve to be treated the way that she treats you."

Toby stares at her for a moment with some unidentifiable emotion in his eyes. "Neither do you, Spencer."

Butterflies erupt in her stomach at the way he says her name. She blushes slightly and gives him a small smile. Why is she reacting like this? "I can handle Ali. She just doesn't like it when I tell her off in public. But sometimes she needs to hear it. She's not a bad person. She just lets her popularity get to her head."

"I was really rude to you earlier. I'm sorry. I really do appreciate you sticking up for me. No one has ever done that for me before." He looks at her for a second, but then looks down.

Spencer gives him a sad look and replies softly. "Toby. Hey, look at me." She waits until he is looking at her before continuing. "I barely know you, but I can tell you this much for sure; you deserve to always have someone sticking up for you. You're a wonderful person."

Toby blushes and looks down, "Thank you. You were right earlier. You're pretty okay."

She takes a sip of her coffee and laughs, "Thanks." She looks around and tries to think of another topic. "How do you like your new step sister? Her name is Jenna, right?"

Toby visibly winces at the mention of Jenna and grabs his bag. "I… I have to go. I'm sorry."

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" She wrinkles her forehead in confusion.

He stands up and slings his bag over his shoulder. "No. No, Spencer, this has honestly been the most fun that I've had in a really long time. You didn't do anything wrong. I just… remembered that I need to be somewhere." He gives her a firm but thankful stare, "It's almost been like having a friend."

Spencer gives him a confused smile but nods. "Okay. But we ARE friends. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Toby says softly as he walks out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. It's from Toby's point of view. It shocked me a little bit. I thought it would be way shorter, but the Toby in my head had a lot to say. I usually hate when stories overlap, but this chapter is going overlap a lot with the last chapter. I think it's good to show what Toby was thinking while they were studying together. This story is going to escalate pretty quickly from here, but I'll try to make it as realistic as possible. Anyways, review! I know I'm updating kind of fast right now, but that's because I'm on fall break. It won't last forever, and reviews will motivate me to write quicker! Love you all! 3

Chapter 3

TPOV

He feels his phone vibrate and glances down to see who's calling. He frowns when he sees that it's Jenna and rejects her call. He looks nervously at his phone for another second before walking into the Brew. He walks to the front counter, orders a small hazelnut latte, and glances around for Spencer. He spots her by the window and walks up to her.

"What are you reading?" he asks her softly, trying to let her know that he's there without scaring her.

He smiles slightly when he sees her jump, but quickly pushes down the laughter. When she laughs he can't help but smile. She has such a pretty laugh. Spencer smiles at him as she responds, "_A Brave New World_. I want to be fluent in French by the time I graduate, and the best way to learn a new language is to read a book you already know in English."

He nods and sits down at the table across from her. "That makes a lot of sense."

He awkwardly looks around, not really sure how he should be reacting. What do people do when they hang out with people? He pulls out his notebook and flips it to the page that he has the assignment notes on. He sets it down on the table in front of him and digs through his messy backpack for a pen. He angles the backpack away from Spencer, not really wanting her to see how much of a slob he is. "Toby! These are incredible! You can really draw."

He sits up straight looks at her hands holding his notebook. He reaches out and grabs it to pull it back to him. Oh that's so embarrassing. The only girl who's ever really been nice to him doesn't need to be looking at his awkward doodles. "Oh, um thanks." He looks over her shoulder and across the room, trying to think of something else to talk about. "So do you have a topic in mind for our report?"

He watches as she nods eagerly and starts to describe her ideas really quickly. She's speaking so fast that he doesn't really understand half of what she's saying. He can't help but laugh at her. He catches the words Cold War decides to cut her off before her brain explodes, "No, no I think the Cold War is a great topic. Should we just do a powerpoint or something more interesting for our visual aid?" He doesn't really care about their visual aid, but she's cute when she talks about academic things.

She crinkles her nose in the cutest way when she's thinking about something. He smiles softly as she starts to reply to his question. "Powerpoints are overused, sure, but they can also be effective if we do a great job on it. I think that's our best bet because it will help us get across the most information. Do you want to meet at my house tomorrow and get a head start on the actual assignment? Maybe around noon?"

He laughs at the fact that she even posed that as a question. Does she honestly think that he doesn't want to meet with her again? Or that he can't? He has no friends and no social life. There's no way that he would pass meeting with her again, even if it is just to work on homework. "I can definitely meet you tomorrow. Do we need to do anything else for Monday's class?"

He spots the waiter coming to refill her coffee and takes advantage of her distraction to really look at her. She seems relaxed and like she's actually enjoying his company. This definitely not something he's used too, but he likes the way that it makes her feel. "I don't think so. Let's just talk for a while. Emily makes you sound really great, and I see what she means now."

Toby sighs and looks down at his hands and starts pulling on his fingers. Emily is a rough topic. She would be a great friend, but it's pretty clear that she's embarrassed of him. "Emily is pretty great. She's always been nice to me. I think if it wasn't for Alison we might actually be friends."

As Spencer replies he can almost hear the apology in her voice, "Toby, I'm so sorry about her. She finds it very hard to accept things that she doesn't understand or find familiar. You don't deserve to be treated the way that she treats you."

Halfway through her apology he looks up and meets her eyes. Who is this girl? He's honestly never met anyone like her before. She's smart, gorgeous, loyal, and not afraid of anything. He frowns slightly when he thinks of how he heard Alison talk to her today, and that was mostly his fault. He should have just stood up for himself. "Neither do you, Spencer."

He can't hold back a smile as he sees her blush. Spencer looks back up at him and smiles. "I can handle Ali. She just doesn't like it when I tell her off in public. But sometimes she needs to hear it. She's not a bad person. She just lets her popularity get to her head."

Toby can see the sincerity in her eyes and immediately averts his gaze back to the table. She really cares, and it's almost more than he can deal with. She doesn't even know him. He sighs and responds to her. "I was really rude to you earlier. I'm sorry. I really do appreciate you sticking up for me. No one has ever done that for me before."

"Toby. Hey, look at me."

He sighs and reluctantly looks up at her. She gives him a sad look, "I barely know you, but I can tell you this much for sure; you deserve to always have someone sticking up for you. You're a wonderful person."

He briefly closes his eyes, scared for a minute that he's going to cry. No one ever sticks up for him. Not his family, not his classmates, not anyone. At least not since his mom had died. And now this girl is telling him that he's worth standing up for.

He blushes and says the only thing that he can think of, "Thank you. You were right earlier. You're pretty okay."

Toby takes advantage of the momentary lapse in conversation and checks his phone. He frowns when he sees he has a text from Jenna. He hesitates and opens it. _I miss you. xx Jenna_. He shudders and puts it into his pocket. He glances back up at Spencer.

"How do you like your new step sister? Her name is Jenna right?" She asks like she's trying to change the subject.

He winces and closes his eyes. Hearing Spencer say Jenna's name is almost physically painful. Spencer, the closest thing he's ever had to a friend, shouldn't even be thinking _her_ name. He needs to go. He needs to get out of here before he gives something away. He grabs his bag and quickly stands up. "I… I have to go. I'm sorry."

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

He wasn't going to say anything else, but her sad and confused tone stops him in his tracks. He turns around and makes sure to look her in the eyes so she can see how serious he is. "No. No, Spencer, this has honestly been the most fun that I've had in a really long time. You didn't do anything wrong. I just… remembered that I need to be somewhere." He pauses, needing to emphasize to her how much this has meant to him, "It's almost been like having a friend."

He keeps looking at her as she responds, "Okay. But we ARE friends. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," he promises as he turns and quickly walks out the door.

He shivers slightly at the cool spring air, but he forgot to grab a jacket in his hurry to get out of his house this morning. He stares at the ground as he hurries through the streets trying to get home without being noticed. After a ten minute walk he reaches his house and pushes through the front door. He's not surprised when his dad and stepmother fail to acknowledge him. He walks into his bedroom and sits on the bed with his face in his hands. He doesn't understand what's going on, but he knows that he can't get Spencer Hastings off of his mind.

"Hello Toby."

Toby jumps when he hears her speak and stands up quickly. "Jenna." He says nervously.

She steps into his room and locks his door behind him. She walks slowly over to him with a seductive smile, "I've been waiting for you." She places a hand on his chest and looks up at him.

He grabs her hand and moves it. "We can't do this again Jenna. It's not right."

She yanks her hand out of his and puts it on his chest. She walks around him like a lioness stalking her prey, "You can't refuse me Toby. Just think about how easy it would be to convince my mommy and your daddy that you've been forcing yourself on me."

Toby closes his eyes and desperately tries to think of a way out of this, but he knows she's right. Who would believe him? He nods and resigns himself to doing this again.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

You guys are wonderful! Seriously wonderful! Maybe some people wouldn't be excited about 9 reviews, but I'm pumped! Thanks so much to Spobyistruelove, Jdurst99, and Morgansgirl for being my loyal reviewers. You're the best and I can't thank you enough. This chapter is back to Spencer's POV, but I might do another one from Toby's soon, because the response to that was great! You get a little Liars love without Alison around being a jerk and Toby's visit to the Hastings house. It's the longest chapter yet, so there's that! Okay, so read and REVIEW and I will see you all again shortly

I don't own Pretty Little Liars or anything you recognize in the story.

Chapter 4

SPOV

Spencer curls up on her chair and stares off into space as her friends try to decide upon a movie. She closes her eyes and replays her time with Toby at The Brew. Why can't she get his sad, beautiful eyes out of her mind? Wait, did she just call his eyes beautiful?

"What about the Notebook?"

Spencer rolls her eyes at the thought, "Han, you've seen the Notebook about a million times. I'm pretty sure that you could quote the entire movie. Maybe we should watch it on mute and you can entertain us with your dialogue."

Hanna gasps and throws a pillow at Spencer, "That's actually always been a dream of mine. The One Woman Notebook Show. Want to hear my manly Ryan Gosling voice?"

Spencer rolls her eyes again and doesn't bother to respond. She hauls herself up from the couch and makes her way to the kitchen to pop some popcorn. "Kettle corn or Butter Lovers?"

"Kettle corn!" Aria cheers from where she's sitting on the floor in front of Hanna, "That stuff is delicious. It's like crack."

"Well I'm going to go ahead and help your with your addiction Aria, because I want all the butter! The more butter the better." Hanna says and flops back out the couch, putting her feet in Emily's lap.

Spencer laughs at her friends. Sometimes she thinks that they just like fighting with each other. She turns to Emily to get her to break the tie, even though she knows she'll say just to make one of each. Emily isn't one for confrontation. "Em, I guess you're the tie breaker since Alison isn't here yet."

Emily glances between Aria and Hanna with a small smirk and opens her mouth to talk until Hanna cuts her off, "You know what the right choice is here, Em!"

Aria laughs smacks Hanna's arm, "Hey! No badgering the deciding vote! Let her choice for herself." She turns to Emily and mouths 'Kettle corn.'

"Hypocrite!" Hanna laughs and reaches down to mess up Aria's hair.

"Okay, okay," Emily laughs and interrupts, "Spence, let's just end the great popcorn debate and make one of each."

Spencer nods and walks into the kitchen. She turns over her shoulder, "Start the movie. It's not like I haven't seen it a million times already."

She walks over to the counter and pulls out a bag of each kind of popcorn. The kettle corn box is already open so she pops it in first and hops up to sit on the counter while she waits. The sounds of the beginning of the Notebook flow out from the living room, so she takes advantage of being alone to collect her thoughts. Spencer sighs and brings her hands up to her temples and rubs them in gentle circles. Toby Cavanaugh won't get out of her mind, and she doesn't understand why. There's something different about him.

She jumps when she feels her phone vibrate and pulls it out to check who it's from. Alison's name flashes across her phone screen. The microwave beeps, and she hops down to change the popcorn over. When she's done she opens the text to read it.

_Hey love. Sorry, I'm not going to be able to make it tonight. College party, college boys! Kisses –A_

Spencer sighs and types out a neutral reply. It's weird, but she feels a bit relieved. Sometimes it's hard to be who Alison wants her to be. It's much easier to relax around Aria, Hanna, and Emily. She grabs both bags and walks back out into the living room with her girls. "Looks like Alison isn't going to be able to make it tonight."

"GOOD! I can eat popcorn without anyone calling me fat." Hanna says happily and grabs the buttered popcorn out of Spencer's hands.

Spencer hands the kettle corn to Aria and sits down with a sigh. She frowns and looks over at her friends, "Guys I did something today."

"Prostitution?" asks Hanna with a straight face.

Aria laughs and joins in, "Crack?"

Emily frowns, "You guys took all the good ones. Um, did you murder someone?"

"No!" she laughs and shakes her head. Her friends are ridiculous. "You guys are crazy. I um… I went to get coffee with Toby Cavanaugh."

"Like a date?" Hanna sits up eagerly and turns to Spencer. "He's cute in a quiet, loner, sketchy kind of way."

"No, not a date. We're partners for our history assignment, and we met to study. He's actually coming over here tomorrow so we can keep working on our assignment."

She pulls her legs up to her and carefully looks at her friend's reactions before deciding whether or not to continue. Hanna looks disappointed that there isn't some kind of dirty scoop for her to drool over. Aria just continues to have the same supportive smile that she always does, and Emily looks thrilled that someone enjoys hanging around Toby.

She shrugs and decides to just go for it, "But I um, I can't stop thinking about him. I don't know why."

Aria looks at her for a moment before answering. "Is it possible that you might like him, Spence?"

Spencer opens her mouth to deny it but shuts it and takes a minute to actually think it through. She had been thinking about his beautiful eyes all evening. He's such a sweet guy, and he deserves better than he apparently has. And Hanna isn't wrong. He _is_ cute. "I-I don't know. Maybe?"

Aria shrugs and smiles, "Well I say go for it."

Hanna nods emphatically in agreement. Spencer smiles at their support and turns to Emily. Emily frowns and looks like she's trying to think of exactly what to say before responding. "I think Toby is great. He's a really sweet person. But Ali isn't going to like it if you get involved with him, even if it's just as a friend. When she doesn't like someone she never lets them forget it."

Spencer sighs and nods. She knows that Alison is going to be a problem. "I can handle Ali. I'm not even sure that I like him. But what I am sure of is that I want to be his friend."

"Then be his friend, Spence. He definitely seems like he needs one. And I guess you're a pretty alright friend," laughs Hanna. She raises her eyebrows suggestively, "And if it turns into more than that's good too. The best relationships come from friendship."

Spencer laughs at Hanna, not sure if she was being serious or not, but definitely appreciating the advice. "Okay, enough about me and Toby. Let's get back to the movie.

The next morning Spencer sleeps in much later than she had originally intended. She sees that it's 11 am so she quickly hops in the shower and gets herself presentable for the day. Her hair is being a bit unmanageable so she braids it over her shoulder and then pulls on a pair of cropped yoga pants and a long white tank top, more worried about comfort than style right now. Right as she's finishing getting ready she hears the doorbell ring and walks quickly downstairs. She smiles when she looks through the glass door and sees Toby. She pulls it open, "Hey, how are you?"

Toby gives her a small smile and walks inside. He holds up a paper bag, "I brought donuts. How are you?"

"Um, donuts are delicious. Thank you." She grabs the bag from him and sets it down on the counter while she takes two plates out of the cabinet. "And to answer your question, I'm good. The girls came over last night and we watched The Notebook, so I was up kind of late."

"Oh, um I can come back later if you want to go back to sleep," he says softly and awkwardly scratches the back of his head.

Spencer gives him an incredulous stare for a moment before answering with a laugh, "Of course I don't want you to leave. I'm excited to get to hang out with you again."

Toby nods silently and sits down on her couch. Not for the first time Spencer is wondering what exactly he's thinking. "What are you thinking, Toby?"

He glances up at her and smiles slightly, "This is just weird. People don't usually want to spend time with me."

Spencer sits down next to him and frowns. "Toby, sometimes a little bit of tough love is the best thing for someone. I don't know you very well yet, but what I do know is that I want to be your friend. Let me."

"Okay," he nods. He looks up at her and smiles, "So how about those donuts."

Spencer grins at him and nods. He seems as though he's accepted that she wants to be his friend and is glad for it. She grabs two plates and brings over the bag of donuts. The bag crinkles as she opens it and peers inside. She grabs ahold of one with sprinkles on it and takes a bite before setting it back down on her plate. "I know we were supposed to study, but for once I'm really just not in the mood. Tell me about yourself."

He brushes his hair back and looks upwards as though his thinking of a good answer, "Um, well I really enjoy carpentry."

Her eyes widen slightly. She wasn't expecting him to say something like that. "Carpentry? Really? What kind of things do you like to make?"

Toby grabs his phone out of his pocket and scrolls through the pictures until he comes across the one that he wants. He hands his phone to her. "I'm working on that rocking chair right now. I found a pattern online and wanted to try it."

She grabs his phone and her eyes widen again. She zooms in on the picture so she can see it better. "Toby, this is incredible. Do you make a lot of things like this?"

He blushes slightly and nods. "Yeah. Sometimes I get this idea in my head and I can't do anything else until I do something about it."

Spencer laughs at how much he sounds like her when he says that, "I'm the same exact way. Whenever I have a question to which I don't know the answer I have to read until I figure it out. I can't handle not knowing something."

Toby smiles at her and grabs a jelly donut out of the bag. He takes a bite and sets it down on his plate. "You're cute," he says with a laugh. When he realizes what he said he blushes a deep red and looks down.

Spencer covers her mouth with a hand and looks away to hide her smile. He is seriously so awkward and adorable. "Thanks."

He composes himself and looks back up at her, "What do you like to do besides study?"

"Well, I'm on the JV Field Hockey team. I enjoy that a lot. I also do debate, academic decathlon, drama, and I'm freshman class president. There are more clubs that I'd do, but I also enjoy having time to hang out with my friends," she replies in a quick and excited voice.

Toby can't help but laugh at her excitement. "You're very involved. I could never be in so many activities."

She nods, "I am. It's the Hastings way. Be involved in everything and be the best at it also. It's exhausting. Family problems."

Toby pauses and gives her a look akin to pity. "I definitely understand family problems. My mom was… amazing. But ever since she died my dad just doesn't care. I'm more of a burden than anything. And Jenna…" He cuts himself off and looks at her apologetically. "I'm sorry; I don't know why I told you any of that."

She stares at him for a moment, trying to think of how to respond. She has a feeling there's a story when it comes to that Jenna girl, but they don't know each other well enough for her to question him further. "My parents are okay. They care, but only when I'm doing exactly what they tell me to do. I have this older sister, Melissa. I am never good enough when compared to her. So don't apologize, because I understand fully what it means to have a difficult family."

"You seem like you handle your family situation better than I do. Whenever it gets too hard for me I just run."

Spencer reaches out and puts a gentle hand on his arm. She frowns and responds softly, "Sometimes that's the best way to handle things, Toby. It's better to run than to do something that you're going to regret. I ran away once."

He looks down at her curiously, "Did you really? Where did you go?"

She laughs quietly and nods, "I did. Melissa and I were fighting and my mom and dad took her side. I don't even remember what we were fighting about now, but it was some great injustice. Anyways, I made a tuna fish sandwich and I ran away to the movies. It was some cute princess movie. After a while I got lonely and decided to come home.

Toby tilts his head slightly and frowns, "What happened when you got home?"

"They hadn't even noticed I was gone," she says with a sad smile.

Toby looks at her for a moment before responding, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," Spencer says softly.

He looks a little bit unsure before responding, "If you ever feel like running again call me first?"

When he says that Spencer can literally feel her heart leap in her chest. Does he not realize that he's going to literally kill her if he keeps saying perfect things like that? She reaches out and grabs his hand with a gentle squeeze. She looks up at him with a soft smile and nods.

He smiles back at her before looking away, "How do all of our conversations end up so serious?"

She takes her hand back so she can lift up her plate and take another bite of her donut. When she finishes chewing she turns back to him and tilts her head to the side. "I trust you. Usually it takes me awhile to trust someone, but with you it's different. I don't know why."

"I trust you too," he says softly.

Spencer smiles and reaches over to grab her bag. She glances at the time on the wall and then sets it back down with a thud. "Holy crap. It's already four o'clock and we've literally gotten nothing done."

Toby raises eyebrows and quickly pulls out his phone. He looks at the time and frowns. "I have to be home by 4:30. We're supposed to have a family dinner. My dad won't be happy if I'm late."

Spencer stands up and walks with him toward the front door. "Thanks so much for coming over." She hesitates before pulling into a quick hug.

Toby hesitates before hugging her back. "It was really nice. I'll see you in school on Monday?"

Spencer nods and opens the door for him. "Bye," she says softly as he walks out.

She shuts the door behind him and flops down on the couch. It's official, she's falling for Toby Cavanaugh.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

You guys are wonderful! I have two ideas for the next chapter in my head. One of them keeps it slow and one of them has a big escalation on the Spoby front. If I end up with over twenty reviews after this chapter I will post the Spoby progress one . Just a little incentive. Thanks to FabsirellaPrincessOfPopcornia, Damon X Misaki, and TeamSpobily167 for being my new reviewers. Welcome to Team AWESOME. Read, review, and enjoy!

Unfortunately Pretty Little Liars and anything that you might recognize is not mine!

Chapter 5

SPOV

Sometimes there are days when nothing goes your way. It looks as though Monday was going to be that kind of day for Spencer. She sighs as she walks through the cafeteria line and grabs some yogurt and fruit for lunch. She's the first one to their table, so she lowers herself onto the bench and opens her yogurt. Seriously, could this day be going any worse? First, she got a B on her Algebra homework. She doesn't get B's. Worst thing ever. Then a red pen exploded in her bag and got all over her English homework. It looked like she murdered a small rodent. And then she forgot to reread the assigned chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird for English, so she didn't feel prepared enough to contribute to the lecture. She groans and puts her head in her hands. Nothing good happens on Mondays.

"Spencer why do you look so constipated?"

Spencer snorts and looks up as Aria sits down. "Today sucks," she whines and puts her head back in her hands.

She feels someone sit down beside her and she doesn't bother to look up this time. She hears an annoyed sigh and knows that it's Ali. "Did Spencer get an A-?"

"I'm fine, it's just not been the best day," she sighs and hopes that Ali will just let it go. She didn't have to worry though, because Ali had already moved on.

"Aria what is in your hair? It looks like a couple peacocks were mating on your head." She wrinkles her nose and reaches out to touch one of the feather's in Aria's hair.

"Well, I mean you don't have to like it Alison. It's my head," she says softly, obviously a little embarrassed.

Spencer looks at Aria and smiles slightly. She would never wear it in a million years, but Aria is right. It's her head and none of Alison's business. She gives her an encouraging smile, proud of her for standing up for herself.

"Yeah, I'd never put something like that in my hair. My hair is nice. I don't need to put things like that in it to make it look pretty." She fluffs her blonde hair slightly and gives Aria a condescending smirk. "But it works for you, Aria."

Spencer sighs. Alison is being especially bitchy today. She's the queen of backhanded compliments. "Aria I love it. I wish I could pull something like that off," she says sincerely.

Aria gives her a grateful smile as she digs into her salad. "Where are Han and Emily?"

"Hanna's sick today, and I think that Emily has a swim team meeting for lunch," she says as she takes a bite of watermelon. She loves watermelon.

"So Spence, I saw something interesting on Saturday," Ali casually says. The tone of her voice makes it obvious that she's about to talk about something she doesn't like.

Spencer sighs and looks over at her, "What did you see, Alison?" She asks her, playing along like she knows that she wants her to.

"Well, I was coming over to your house to tell you about the party I went to Friday night when I saw you with none other than that creep, Toby Cavanaugh."

She didn't even think about the possibility that someone might have seen them. She really needs to convince her parents to get more curtains. She's not embarrassed to be seen with him by any means. She doesn't want Ali to give him a hard time. "Alison, I've never understood why you have to put other people down to make you feel better about yourself. Don't call him names."

Aria looks like she wants to say something, but she quickly looks down at the table. Alison glances at Aria before glaring at Spencer. "Why would I not call him names? He's gross. And he's creepy! I'm pretty sure I saw him peeping in our windows once."

Spencer gives her a disgusted glare and literally has to pause for several seconds so that she doesn't say anything too rude, "What is wrong with you Alison? Just because someone doesn't bow down and kiss your feet every time you walk by doesn't mean that they're 'gross' and 'creepy.' Toby is a much better person than you are."

Alison raises her eyebrows at Spencer like she can't believe she had just said that. "I don't know what's gotten into you lately Spencer. Why are you taking in strays?"

Did she really just say that? Really? She raises her hands in exasperation. "Is this for real, Alison? Just because he doesn't fit into your perfect little world he's a stray. This isn't just about Toby. I'm so sick of the way that you treat people. I'm sick of the person that I'm becoming by spending time with you. I'm done." She grabs her bag and puts her things in it and prepares to storm off.

"Maybe there's something more to this. Do you like him, Spence? Do you like the creepy stalker boy?"

Before she knows what she's doing Spencer whips around and smacks Alison hard across the face. "This is between me and you. Leave him and everyone else out of it."

She grabs her bag and her tray and storms off to another table. She finds the table that's furthest away from Alison and sits down. She knew that today was going to suck when she woke up. She should have just stayed home today. She angrily stabs a grape with her fork and looks up in shock when Aria joins her. "Aria, you don't need to deal with her wrath for me…" she trails off.

Aria smirks and takes a bite of her sandwich and chews thoughtfully. "I'm not going to let you make a stand on your own. Team Sparia forever. Alison is one of my best friends, but so are you. If I have to pick between two of my best friends I have to go with who's right. And that's you. Ali treats people terribly."

Spencer grins at her tiny best friend. "Alison is glaring at me, isn't she?"

Aria leans across Spencer so she can see their other friend and laughs a bit, "If looks could kill you'd be on the ground dead right now. But I'm equally sure that you just became everyone's hero at the same time."

Spencer smiles at Aria's words and opens her mouth to tell her that it was an unintended perk, but the bell beat her to it. She sighs and stands up. "You have Chem with Em, right? Can you let her know what happened? Make sure she knows that I understand if she wants to take Alison's side in this."

Aria nods and smiles as she links her arm with Spencer's. As much as Alison got on her nerves, she will always feel grateful to her for bringing her Hanna, Emily, and Aria. Spencer lets go of Aria's arm and pulls her into a quick hug before walking into her History classroom and taking her seat next to Toby. He looks over at her curiously, "Long day?"

She looks up at him with a laugh, "You have no idea. Were you at lunch?"

Toby smirks at her and nods, "For your showdown with Alison? I saw, but I didn't hear. It seemed pretty intense though. Can I ask what you were arguing about?"

Spencer hesitates before answering. She doesn't really want to tell him, but Alison will probably say something to him at some point. She owes him some warning. "You, mostly."

"Me? What do you mean?" he asks her hesitantly.

She sighs and tilts her head and looks at him speculatively. She's not sure how to answer this question. "That's hard to say. The thing about Alison is that she doesn't like when she isn't in control. You should be careful though. I'm almost positive that she'll say something to you at some point."

"Well after your slap earlier I think that I'm inspired. I heard some chess club members talking about printing up some Spencer is my Idol tshirts." He says softly with a smirk.

Spencer laughs quietly, "Not my finest moment. She knows how to push my buttons."

Toby snorts and pulls out his notebook and starts copying down what the teacher is writing on the board. "I thought that it was very brave of you."

She glances at him out of the corner of her eye while she copies down her notes. Suddenly she wants nothing more than to hang out with this boy. Spencer turns to Toby, "Hey. Aria, Em, and I are going to Philly after school. Hanna might come if she's feeling better. Would you like to join us?"

He hesitates before answering. "I wouldn't want to impose on your girl time."

"Toby, I wouldn't have asked you to come if I thought that you'd be imposing on anything. Come with us," she says and gives him a persuasive stare.

He looks at her for a second like he's trying to make sure that she's serious before responding. "Are you sure that the other girls wouldn't care?"

"Toby!" she laughs, "I wouldn't have asked you to come with us if I thought that they'd care! Please just come."

He pauses before nodding, "Okay. That sounds like a lot of fun."

When the bell rings Spencer gathers up her books. She's actually really thrilled that he's coming with them. She stands up and smiles down at him. "Good! Meet at my car after school. See you later."

"See you," he nods in her direction and walks out of the room next to her.

**A/N**

Next chapter will be their Philly trip! It might come later than usual because I plan on doing NOTHING other than watching the PLL marathon tomorrow! LOVE YOU GUYS!


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